Information storage and retrieval apparatus



Aug. 13, 1968 J. E. MORSE ET AL 3,396,732

INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 OriginalFiled Oct. 26. 1967 JOHN E MORSE WILLIAM C THOMAS INVENTORS ATTORNEY 8AGENT Aug. 13, 1968 oRs ET AL 3,396,732

INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 OriginalFiled Oct. 26, 1967 an r RM N m M mm A CN 8 N W Y mum E m 0 W T J. E.MORSE ET AL 3,396,732

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL APPARATUS mm Y w mwmwWW5 WW? mm mam MW: mm W? mmv Q6 W4 m 1 m m o o o 5 5 o o o 5 5 m m W 0 o5 o 5 o o 5 o 5 m m 0 o 5 5 0 5 0 5 .5 o k M o 5 o o 5 o 5 o o 5 m w o 5o 5 o o 5 o 5 o m 5 o .6 .0 O O o $1 PEP i 5 o o o 5 51W m 5 o o 5 o 5 oo 5 o w 1 5 o 5 o o .YO YO O O O 70 YO O O O Q 1 mm A \E\ Stn v G% 5 A QE mm Aug. 13, 1968 Original Filed Oct. 26, 1967 JOHN E. MORSE WILL/AM amoms mvzsmons BY I? ATTORNEY a AGENT Aug. 13, 1968 J, MORSE ET AL3,396,732

INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 OriginalFiled Oct. 26. 1967 m w k m m v m N 0 JOHN E. MORSE WILL/AM C. THOMAS RmQR Afro/away a AGENT United States Patent Otfice 3,396,732 Patented Aug.13, 1968 3,396,732 INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL APPARATUS John E.Morse and William C. Thomas, Rochester, N.Y., assignors to Eastman KodakCompany, Rochester, N.Y., a corporation of New Jersey Continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 406,499, Get. 26, 1967. This application Aug. 11,1967, Ser. No. 660,140

1 Claim. (Cl. 129-161) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparataus forretrieving preselected information elements of the type which aresubstantially rectangular and have identifying notch and landconfigurations on opposite longitudinal edges thereof, form a stackedarrangement of similar, vertically suspended elements. The apparatusincludes a first pair of opposed movable bars which suspend thearrangement in a first position and a This is a continuation ofapplication Ser. No. 406,- 499, filed Oct. 26, 1964.

The present invention relates to information handling systems and moreparticularly to apparatus for retrieving at least one element from agroup or arrangement of similar elements wherein each element is encodedalong a pair of opposite edges with identifying information.

In present commercial information storage and retrieval systems in whichgraphic and/or digital information is recorded on a photosensitivestrip, such a strip is frequently of such a length that it is maintainedin the form of a roll and the pertinent information for locating aparticular image area is encoded either between or alongside each suchimage area. These arrangements require that at least a portion of theroll be scanned in order to locate such image area. In the event thedesired image area is located at or near the very end of the roll, thecomplete roll must be scanned.

In other systems where graphic or digital information is recorded on ashort strip, one or more of such strips are retained within a carrierthat is provided with a legible indication of the information containedor recorded on the strips held thereby. In order to locate anyparticular strip in this system, the searcher, in effect, visually scanseach carrier until the desired one is observed.

The apparatus of the present invention has been devised for storing agroup of elements, each of which carries at least one informationbearing medium, and for retrieving from such group at least one elementby means of the information encoded in a pair of opposite edges thereof.The encoded information can be related to that on the medium or canidentify the element per se by an alpha, numeric, or alpha-numericdesignation. With the apparatus described hereinafter, any desiredelement in the group can be automatically retrieved and the informationrecorded on the medium can then be read and/or reproduced. The systemdescribed hereinafter possesses many advantages over those of the priorart in that the elements can be randomly stored, the elements are sensedor scanned simultaneously (in parallel) without the necessity forsequentially scanning undesired elements, the medium per se can beremoved from the element for reading and/or reproduction, and anyelement can be updated by either replacing the old medium by a newmedium or adding a new medium to another element having the same codedesignation so that all elements having such designation can beretrieved.

Graphic and/or digital information that is recorded on a strip ofphotosensitive film, as well as digital information that is recorded ona strip of magnetic or paper tape, can be positioned on or within anelement or carrier having correspondingly spaced notches in each of apair of opposite edges for forming a land between each pair of adjacentnotches. Combinations of preselected lands are removed for identifyingeach such element or the information recorded on the medium. A pluralityof such elements are retained within a housing by a pair of members thatengage certain notches in each element to support the arrangement ofelements in a vertically suspended direction. As discussed hereinbelow,the lands can be removed in accordance with any one of a number ofsystems or encoding information and the procedure for retrieving adesired element is the same, except that a compatible form of selectingmeans is necessary. The selecting means establishes a combination ofselecting members which are moved simultaneously into engagernent withcorresponding notches in the vertically arranged elements. After suchselecting members are in position, the supporting members are removed.Any element that has a combination of removed lands corresponding to thecombination of selecting members engaging the elements, then drops bygravity a distance corresponding to that between adjacent notches and isheld in this position by an edge of the adjacent uppermost notches. Thesupporting members are then returned to their initial position forengaging the arrangement of elements and the selecting members arefinally withdrawn. Since the selected element has moved (dropped)relative to the supporting members, such element cannot be engaged andis free to move vertically downward by gravity and onto a receiver whichdelivers the selected element to the front of the casing. In order toselect and retrieve a desired element, the encoded information thatidentifies such element, or that is unique to the information recordedon the medium, is inserted into the apparatus by means of a set ofselection switches. A timing mechanism, which is initiated after theselection switches have been positioned, controls the cyclic operationof the apparatus for retrieval of the desired element. So long as aretrieved element is returned to the proper bin or receptacle therefor,it does not have to be returned in any particular order with respect tothe other elements in the same bin or receptacle. While the selectedelement has been described above as moving by gravity relative to thearrangement and from the arrangement, such movement can be assisted oraccomplished by means of an induced force, such as magnetic attraction,inertial acceleration, pneumatic means, etc.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide an informationhandling system in which a selected randomly stored element carrying aninformation bearing medium can be automatically retrieved from a groupof similar elements.

Another object of the invention is to provide an information handlingsystem in which a group of elements, each of which carries aninformation bearing medium, are retained in a stack and at least one ofsaid elements can be selectively and automatically retrieved from thestack by movement relative thereto.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an informationstorage and retrieval apparatus in which each element in a group ofelements has identifying information encoded in a pair of opposite edgesand a selected element is retrieved by a code request corresponding toits identifying information.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a rapid accessretrieval system in which an arrangement of similar elements are sensedsimultaneously by a preset combination of selecting members and anyelement corresponding to such selecting members is automaticallydischarged from the arrangement.

And yet another object of the invention is to provide an informationstorage and retrieval apparatus of modular form so as to permitadditions of such modules to increase the size of the system.

These as well as other objects and advantages will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art by the description which follows when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings wherein likereference numerals and characters designate like parts and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective view of an information storage andretrieval apparatus in accordance with the invention and shows in dottedlines a modular arrangement thereof;

FIG. 2 is a front view of an element on or in which an informationbearing medium is carried, and shows the designations that can beassigned to the arrangement of lands for implementing several differentcode systems;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the supporting members andselecting members arranged along opposite sides of an arrangement ofencoded elements and the means for actuating such members;

FIG. 4 is a detail plan view of one of the support members showing thestructure for moving such member relative to the arrangement ofelements;

FIG. 5 is a schematic wiring diagram showing the means for selecting andcyclically operating the supporting members and the selecting members;

FIGS. 6A-6E are front views showing schematically the sequentialoperation of the supporting members and the selecting members forreleasing an element having a designated identifying code; and

FIG. 7 is a tabular designation of one of the code systems that is used,by way of example, in conjunction with the notches in the element shownin FIG. 2.

Before proceeding with a description of the apparatus per se, it may bewell to first describe the form of the element or strip carrier that isused in the apparatus. The element shown in FIG. 2 is more fullydescribed and claimed in a copending application, Ser. No. 406,505,filed Oct. 26, 1964. The element 10 is a single member on which aninformation bearing medium is mounted or a multi-ply structure providedwith a central pocket or cavity in which an information bearing medium11 can be moved by means of a member 12 that is slidably mounted withinthe cavity and moved by means engaging an aperture 13 therein, the innerend of medium 11 being fixed to said member. Along opposite longitudinaledges 14 and 15 of element 10, a plurality of lands 16 are formed by aplurality of notches 17. In the present disclosure, by way of anexample, information relating to the medium 11, or for identifying theelement 10, is encoded on the element by means of a code system as shownin FIG. 7. With this code system the numerals 0-9 can be represented byremoval of various combinations of two of the five lands designate-d AEin each of edges 14 and 15. It can be readily appreciated that such asytem permits at least seven digits to be encoded along each edge of theelement. This number is merely illustrative in that it can be in creasedor decreased depending on the size of the notches that are used and thelength of the element. In the central section G of element 10 anothercode system is shown which is similar to that used in well knownbusiness machine cards wherein each digit is designated by a particularland and an alpha designation can be obtained by a combination ofnumeric and alpha designated lands, the lands being divided between eachof edges 14 and 15. In the lower section H of element 10, this samealpha-numeric designation is obtained by all of the lands 16 beingarranged along one edge of the element. It will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that with such an arrangement of spaced lands in eachof the opposite edges of the element 10, many other code systems can beused without departing from the spirit of the invention as disclosedhereinafter with respect to apparatus based on the code system shown inFIG. 7.

As described hereinafter, the release of a selected element 10 iseffected by gravity and/or an induced force acting parallel to the edges14 and 15. For this reason, each land 16 is associated with acorresponding notch 17 which is the one immediately below the land. Withthis relationship of notch and land, a selecting member, when moved intoengagement with a notch 17, supports the element 10 unless itscorresponding land 16 has been removed in which case the element canmove (drop) by gravity until the adjacent upper notch engages theselecting member. When a combination of selecting members on each sideof an arrangement are moved into engagement with their respectivenotches in each element, only the element or elements having the samecombination of removed lands can fall by gravity, see FIGS. 6B and 6C.

As shown in FIG. 1, a group of elements 10 are stacked with theirlongitudinal edges extending in a vertical direction to form anarrangement 20 which can be positioned within a casing 21 wherein theselected element is delivered to the searcher by an endless belt 22 thatmoves the selected element through an aperture 23 in the front of thecasing 21. Such a casing or module 21 can contain more than onearrangement and several such modules can be arranged in side by siderelationship. Adjacent the casing 21 is a selecting device 24 which isdescribed more fully hereinafter.

The arrangement 20 is suspended in a vertical direction within casing 21by means of a pair of support members 25 and 26 which engage theuppermost pair of slots 27 and 28 in each element. Each of the supportmembers 25, 26 is arranged for movement in a horizontal plane by meansof vertically extending rods 29 and 30 and a pair of oblique slots 32 inmember 25 and a pair of oppositely inclined slots 33 in member 26. Atthe rear end of each of members 25 and 26, a spring 34 normally urgesits respective member into an engaging position with respect to slots 27and 28 in each element in the arrangement 20. At the other end of eachof members 25 and 26, a pair of links 35 connects its respective memberto a bar 36 that is formed integral with or is attached to an armature 37 of a solenoid 38.

A plurality of selecting members 40 and 41 are arranged adjacentopposite sides of arrangement 20, each of the selecting members beingaligned with a corresponding notch 17 in each of the elements 10. Eachselecting member is provided with a pair of oblique slots 42 throughwhich the rods 29 and 30 also extend. It should be noted that theoblique slots 42 in members 40 are inclined in an opposite direction ascompared with those in members 41, in order that both groups of memberscan be moved simultaneously as described more fully hereinafter. Each ofselecting members 40 and 41 has a spring 43 connected to the rear endthereof for retaining its respective selecting member in a disengagedposition. At the forward end of each of members 40, a link 44 connectsits respective member to an armature 45 of a solenoid 46, and at theforward end of each of members 41, a link 47 connects its respectivemember to an armature 48 of a solenoid 49. With reference to FIG. 6A,supporting members 25 and 26 as well as selecting members 40 and 41 aremounted for movement in a horizontal plane by their respective springsand solenoids in guide members 50 and 51 which are provided withsuitable slots 52 and 53, respectively, therefor. In order to properlyorient each of elements relative to arrangement 20 and to preventturning of the elements, each element is provided with a pair of slots54 which are spaced in accordance with a pair of locators 55 that engagesuch slots in each element in arrangement 20, see FIGS. 6A-6E.

In FIG. 4 the member 26 is shown in full line in the position it assumesfor engaging the uppermost notches 28 for supporting the arrangement 20.The member 26 is held in this position by spring 34 with the lowermostend of slot 33 engaging rod 30. When its respective solenoid 38 isenergized, the armature 37 is drawn to the left and the link 35 movesthe member 26 to the left and in a downward direction, as seen in FIG.4, until the other end of slot 33 engages rod 30. In this position themember 26 is withdrawn from its respective notches 28. When solenoid 38is deenergizer, the spring 34 moves the armature 37, link 35 and member26 to the right and due to the arrangement of slot 33, also in an upwarddirection, as seen in FIG. 4, so that the member 26 is moved into itsengaging position relative to arrangement 20. The sequence of operationof supporting member 25 is the same as that described for member 26 anddue to the inclination of slots 32 and 33 and the connection to a commonactuating means, the operation occurs simultaneously. While referencehas been made to movement of these parts in an upward and downwarddirection relative to the showing in FIG. 4, these directions areactually dependent on the position of the parts relative to thearrangement 20 so that as shown in FIG. 3 such movement is away from andtoward arrangement 20. The same operation takes place with respect toselecting members 40 and 41 with the exception that the directions ofmovement are reversed in that these members are moved from a disengagedposition to an engaging position and then returned to the disengagedposition relative to arrangement 20.

The selecting means is generally designated by the numeral 24 andcomprises at least a pair of multiple position switches 56 and 57 forthe example described hereinafter. Each of switches 56 and 57 isassociated with a code designation encoded on a respective edge ofelement 10. Additional switches of the same type can be :added to extendthe code beyond the two digits used in the described operation of theinvention.

Inasmuch as switches 56 and 57 perform the same function, the structureand connections of only one of such switches needs to be described.Switch 56 is a commercially available 10 position, 5 wafer, tap switch.Each position corresponds to one of the numerical designations 0-9 andeach wafer corresponds to a land A-E (section F) on the element, seeFIG. 2. The positions and wafers are therefore interconnected to thesolenoids 46A-46E in accordance with the chart shown in FIG. 7. Whenswitch 56 is set in any one of positions 0-9, a predeterminedcombination of two of solenoids 46A-46E are connected across lines 58and 59. A source of potential is applied across lines 59 and 60.

In order to provide cyclic operation for the selection of a desiredelement 10, a motor 61 is connected across lines 59 and 60 by means of apush button switch 62. The motor 61, when energized, drives a pluralityof cams 63, 64 and 65 which actuate respective switches 66, 67 and 68.The motor 61 with its driven cams provides a timing means for cyclicallyactuating the supporting members 25 and 26 and combinations of theselecting members 40 and 41 to release the desired element 10 from thearrangement 20.

The operation of the apparatus can be best understood by assuming anddescribing a selection procedure with respect to a particular example.If the elements 10 are merely encoded with numbers designating differentmediums carried thereby, or each number identifies a particular element10, let it be assumed that an element 10 encoded with the number 3 1 isto be selected from a group of elements in the arrangement 20 which arerandomly arranged. In this instance, the units digit will be designatedby the lands 16A-16E on the righthand side of element 10 in FIG. 2whereas the tens digit will be designated by the lands 16A-16E on thelefthand side. As shown in FIG. 6A, such an element has the lands 16Cand 16B removed on the righthand side of the lands 16A and 16E removedon the lefthand side in accordance with the code chart in FIG. 7. Toobtain this combination of selection members the operator sets switch 56(tens) in the 3 position and switch 57 (units) in the 1 position. Withreference to FIG. 5, it will be noted that these settings connectsolenoid 46A, 46E, 49C and 49B across lines 58 and 59. When thisselection has been made, the switch 62 is actuated and the motor 61 isenergized to rotate cams 63, 64 and 65 as a unit. Cam 63 actuates switch66 to a closed position immediately and thereby holds motor 61 energizedfor a cycle of operation. Cam 64 closes switch 67 after the closure ofswitch 66 and com meets the solenoids 46A, 46B, 49C and 49B across lines59 and 60 via switch 67 and line 58. With the energization of thesesolenoids, the selecting members 40 and 41 connected thereto byrespective links 44 and 47 are moved into an engaging position withrespect to arrangement 20, see FIG. 6B, whereby the elements in thearrangement are sensed or read simultaneously. After this occurs, cam 65closes switch 68 and solenoid 38 is energized by connection across lines59 and 60 via switch 68 and line 69 for moving members 25 and 26 into aposition in which they are disengaged from notches 27 and 28 and thear-- rangement 20, see FIG. 60. At this point in the cycle of operation,the arrangement 20 is supported by the combinations of members 40 and 41that had been actuated into an engaging position. Since one of theelements 10 has lands 16A and 16E on the lefthand side and 16C and 16Eon the righthand side removed and each such land is immediately above aselecting member, this particular element can fall vertically by gravityuntil the edge of the next adjacent notch engages the selecting membersas shown in FIG. 6D.

Due to the configuration of cams 64 and 65, switch 68 opens beforeswitch 67. As a result, members 25 and 26 are returned to their engagingposition relative to notches 27 and 28 and arrangement 20 by springs 34so that the arrangement is again engaged by both the supporting members25 and 26 and the combination of selecting members 40 and 41, but theelement that has moved relative to the selecting members is now in alower position where the notches 27 and 28 cannot be engaged by thesupporting members 25 and 26, as seen in FIG. 6D. Finally, cam 64reaches a position in which switch 67 is opened and the solenoids 46A,46B, 49C and 4913 are deenergized so that the selected combinations ofmembers 40 and 41 are returned to their disengaged position by theirrespective springs 43. With the combination of selecting members 40 and41 returned to their disengaged positions, the selected element 10 isfree and falls by gravity from the arrangement 20 onto belt 22 forremoval to the outside of the casing 21. At substantially the same timethat switch 67 is opened, cam 63 also opens switch 66 to deenergizemotor 61, thereby completing a cycle of operation. From the abovedescription it can be readily appreciated that earns 63, 64 and 65provide a timing means for controlling the energization of any selectedcombinations of solenoids 46 and 49 so that cyclic movement of thesupporting members occurs during the cyclic movement of the combinationsof selecting members thereby insuring support of the arrangement at alltimes during a cycle of operation. The selected element can be returnedto arrangement 20 through an opening 70 in a rear wall 71 of casing 21.

As pointed out above, the switches 56 and 57 can be increased in numberor a different type of switch can be used in place of these switches inaccordance with the code system that is to be used without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

The invention has been described in detail with particular reference topreferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood that variationsand modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope of theinvention as described hereinabove and as defined by the appended claim.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for selectively separating at least one element from anarrangement of similar elements supported thereby wherein:

(a) each element in said arrangement is generally rectangular inconfiguration and has a series of spaced notches formed along thesubstantially entire length of two opposite edges thereof so as to forma plurality of lands respectively between each pair of adjacent notches;

(b) each element in said arrangement has preselected of said landsremoved thereby providing two generally parallel identifying edgeconfigurations for that element; and

(c) said elements are supported within said arrangement in stackedrelation with the series of notches, and lands forming the opposedelement-identifying edges located respectively in one of two verticalplanes which are substantially perpendicular to the horizontal andextend along opposite sides of said arrangement and with correspondingnotches and lands on the element-identifying edges of each elementhorizontally aligned, said apparatus comprising:

(1) holding means for releasably engaging each of said elements in saidarrangement;

(2) a plurality of movable selecting bars located on each of the sidesof said arrangement defined by the identifying edges of said elements,each of said selecting bars extending horizontally along an entire sideof said arrangement and being movable from a position spaced from theidentifying edges of said elements to an engaging position within acorresponding notch in each of said elements, said selecting bars whenwithin said notches being vertically aligned along their respectivesides of said arrangement and within one of said vertical planes;

(3) means coupled to each of said selecting bars for selectively movingsaid bars between said spaced and said engaging positions includingresilient means engaging one end of each of said bars for urging saidbars in a first direction substantially parallel with respect to a sideof said arrangement, at least one stationary member engaging each ofsaid bars, a cam surface on each of said bars located in operativerelation with respect to one of said stationary members andelectromagnetic means in operative relation with each of said bars forselectively urging each bar against said resilient means in a directionsubstantially opposite said first direction, said cam surfaces incooperation with said stationary members directing said bars betweensaid engaging and spaced positions in response to the forces imparted tosaid bars by said resilient and electromagnetic means; and (4) means forsequentially:

actuating on a given side of said arrangement preselected pairs of barmoving means corresponding to the identifying edge configuration of anelement to be separated from said arrangement so as to move theselecting bars in operative relation therewith into said engagingposition; actuating said holding means to release the elements of saidarrangement so that those elements having identifying edgeconfigurations corresponding to said preselected combination of actuatedbars move vertically downward with respect to said arrangement;actuating said holding means to re-engage those elements which have notmoved in said arrangement; and actuating said preselected combination ofbar moving means to move the bars coupled thereto back into the spacedposition, whereby those elements which have moved with respect to thearrangement drop out of said arrangement.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,114,519 10/1914 Ralph 12.9-16.11,317,684 10/1919 Brown et al l29l6.1 2,146,063 2/1939 Gardin et al129'16.1 X 2,644,459 7/1953 Schommer 12916.1 2,795,226 6/1957 Bralove etal. 12916.1 3,240,210 3/1966 Giambazi 129l6.l

FOREIGN PATENTS 796,100 1/1936 France. 614,436 12/1948 Great Britain.

JEROME SCHNALL, Primary Examiner.

